St. Pierre parish,
Baradères, Haiti
Sister parish of St. John the Baptist, Silver
Spring, Md.
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Managing chronic disease in rural Haiti
Patients, relatives, and the curious streamed toward our makeshift clinic in a dancehall on the waterfront of the village of Grand Boucan. The view of the Bay of Baradères was breathtaking, but we focused on our mission. Mid-morning, a young man helped his limping mother to the corner where we had some privacy. He explained that she had collapsed at home several months earlier and had needed assistance ever since. A tap of my finger on her knee and arm confirmed my impression - a stroke that fortunately had spared her face and speech. Glancing at the sheet from the intake nurse: blood pressure 230/130. Through Rodney, my colleague and interpreter, I explained that the same thing had happened to my own mother. Reversing the damage is impossible. The critical thing is to prevent a second stroke. Rodney's eyebrows rose, but he explained that we were going to start his mother on three aspirin per day and a potent blood pressure medication. The son assured me that somehow he would transport his mother on the 2-hour journey over water and land to the nuns' clinic in Baradères for follow-up and medication refills.
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